memeorandum: Trump adviser sent email describing ‘private conversation’ with Russian official (Washington Post)

8:35 AM ET, November 7, 2017

Top Items:

Ronan Farrow / New Yorker:

Harvey Weinstein's Army of Spies — In the fall of 2016, Harvey Weinstein set out to suppress allegations that he had sexually harassed or assaulted numerous women. He began to hire private security agencies to collect information on the women and the journalists trying to expose the allegations.

Discussion: New Republic, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Guardian, Instapundit, RT, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Mashable, Jezebel, Business Insider, Axios and RedState, more at Mediagazer »

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Report Details Weinstein's Covert Attempt to Halt Publication of Accusations

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and New Yorker, more at Mediagazer »

Adam Roberts / KHBS:

Man who shot Texas church gunman shares his story — HIDE TRANSCRIPT SHOW TRANSCRIPT — SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — Stephen Willeford shot and chased the man who killed 26 people in a Texas church on Sunday. He spoke to 40/29 News in an exclusive sit-down interview on Monday.

Discussion: The Federalist, NPR, Telegraph, The Daily Caller, Liberty Unyielding, The Gateway Pundit, bizpacreview.com, RedState, Bearing Arms, twitchy.com, The Week, TheBlaze, Mediaite, ABC News and IJR

Rich Lowry / New York Post:

The heroes of Sutherland Springs — MORE FROM: … Before the Texas church shooter encountered any police officers, he was run off a highway and dead. — He had been shot and chased by two private citizens who took it upon themselves to respond to a heinous crime when no one with a badge was anywhere to be found.

Discussion: Power Line, Daily Mail, IJR and Shot in the Dark

David Nakamura / Washington Post: Trump says ‘hundreds more’ might have died in Texas shooting if gun laws were tougher

Heather Caygle / Politico:
GOP shrugs off gun control after latest mass shooting

Discussion: Political Wire

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Texas Gov. Abbot: Gunman was denied gun permit

Discussion: Politico, New York Times and ABC News

Alex Yablon / The Trace:

The Military Is Reporting Almost No Domestic Abusers to the Main Gun Background Check Database — A year before committing Sunday's mass shooting at a tight-knit church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Devin Kelley walked into a sporting goods store and bought a Ruger assault-style rifle …

Discussion: New York Times, Liberty Unyielding, MySanAntonio.com, Business Insider and Task & Purpose

New York Times:

Texas Gunman Broke Child's Skull and Assaulted Wife in Troubled Life — NEW BRAUNFELS, Tex. — He beat his wife, cracked his toddler stepson's skull and was kicked out of the military. He drove away friends, drew attention from the police and abused his dog.

Alex Horton / Washington Post:
The Air Force says it failed to follow procedures, allowing Texas church shooter to obtain firearms

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress, Faithwire, The Daily Signal, KTLA, The Week, IJR and The Root

New York Times:
Air Force Error Allowed Texas Gunman to Buy Weapons

Discussion: The Atlantic, New York Magazine, The Federalist, Althouse, The Independent, RedState, RT, San Antonio Current, Media Matters for America, Axios, Business Insider, Washington Free Beacon, The Root and CNN

New York Times:
A Family Was Praying in a Texas Church. Then 8 Were Dead.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post and Telegraph

Dan Alexander / Forbes:

The Case Of Wilbur Ross' Phantom $2 Billion — Fresh off a tour through Thailand, Laos and China, United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Jr. picked up the phone on a Sunday afternoon in October to discuss something deeply personal: how much money he has.

Discussion: Raw Story

Bloomberg:
Ross Says He'll ‘Probably’ Sell Stake in Putin-Linked Company

Discussion: APM Reports, New York Times and BBC

Jon Swaine / The Guardian:

Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon's attacks on Hillary Clinton — Robert Mercer, whose spending assisted Donald Trump's election win, used tax haven of Bermuda to avoid US taxes — Eighteen months before guiding Donald Trump to election victory, Steve Bannon delivered the opening shot …

Discussion: Axios and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Trump adviser sent email describing ‘private conversation’ with Russian official — Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to President Trump's campaign whose visit to Moscow during the election has drawn scrutiny, sent an email to fellow Trump aides during his trip describing “a private conversation” …

Discussion: Political Wire, ABC News and The Week

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
Carter Page's testimony is filled with bombshells — and supports key portions of the Steele dossier

Discussion: Raw Story, Just Security and Washington Monthly

Associated Press:

The Latest: US-South Korea discuss nuclear submarines — The Latest on President Donald Trump's trip to Asia (all times local): — South Korea's presidential office says U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have agreed to open “working-level” …

Discussion: ABC News and Axios

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
A toned-down Trump prods China, Russia to do more to combat North Korean nuclear threat

Discussion: ABC News and CNBC

Associated Press:
In Seoul, Trump calls for North Korea to make a deal

Discussion: The Week

Marina Fang / HuffPost:

Russian Lawyer Who Met With Donald Trump Jr. Claims He Offered A Quid Pro Quo — “Looking ahead, if we come to power, we can return to this issue and think what to do about it,” Trump Jr. said during the June 2016 meeting, according to Natalia Veselnitskaya.

Discussion: CNN, AOL, Shareblue Media, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and emptywheel

CNN:

CNN Poll: Trump approval at new low as Russia concerns grow — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Six in 10 think Trump knew last year that campaign associates met with suspected Russian operatives — WASHINGTON (CNN)Donald Trump's approval rating stands at its lowest point in CNN's polling as concerns …

Discussion: Washington Times, Politico, Politicus USA and Political Wire

New York Times:

What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer — mass — shooters … mass — shooters … 100 — mass — shooters … 80 — 60 — 40 … The New York Times | Source: Adam Lankford, The University of Alabama (shooters); Small Arms Survey (guns).

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
The indefensible Republican response to the Texas mass shooting

Discussion: Vox and Bangor Daily News

James Bridle:

Something is wrong on the internet — I'm James Bridle. I'm a writer and artist concerned with technology and culture. I usually write on my own blog, but frankly I don't want what I'm talking about here anywhere near my own site. Please be advised: this essay describes disturbing things …

Discussion: Crooked Timber and Boing Boing, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Is Landscaping Drama at the Root of Rand Paul's Assault? — WASHINGTON — The violent altercation last week that left Senator Rand Paul nursing bruised lungs and broken ribs began over a landscaping dispute between the senator and his longtime next-door neighbor, according to neighbors …

John Harwood / CNBC:

GOP tax plan would increase federal deficits substantially, new analysis shows — The Tax Policy Center released an analysis of the House GOP tax bill, but then the think tank pulled its study after it found an error in its analysis. — A second report shows that the House GOP bill …

taxpolicycenter.org:
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/sites/ default/files/publication/147726/ 2001579-preliminary …

Discussion: Tax Policy Center, Vox, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, The Slot and Balloon Juice

WTTG-TV:

Secret Service: Man who reportedly traveled to DC to kill ‘all white police’ at White House arrested — Dallas man arrested near White House after alleged threats — WASHINGTON - A Dallas man who reportedly traveled to the nation's capital for the purpose of killing “all white police” …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Times and IJR

Paul Farrell / Heavy.com:
Michael Arega: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Discussion: bizpacreview.com, The Gateway Pundit and twitchy.com

BBC:

Paradise Papers: Apple's secret tax bolthole revealed — The world's most profitable firm has a secretive new structure that would enable it to continue avoiding billions in taxes, the Paradise Papers show. — They reveal how Apple sidestepped a 2013 crackdown on its controversial Irish tax practices …

Discussion: Instapundit, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:
After a Tax Crackdown, Apple Found a New Shelter for Its Profits

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Guardian, VICE, Mashable, The Verge, 9to5Mac, NPR, The Daily Caller and The Surly Subgroup, more at Mediagazer »

Harriet Sinclair / Newsweek:

PAPA JOHNS TELLS NAZIS 'DON'T BUY OUR PIZZA' AFTER CHAIN IS CLAIMED AS OFFICIAL PIE OF ALT-RIGHT — Papa Johns has told racists not to eat its food, after a neo-Nazi website claimed the pizza chain was the official pie of the alt-right. — The Daily Stormer posted a picture of a swastika pizza …

Discussion: ProFootballTalk, Mediaite, Courier-Journal, The Daily Caller, The Root and Joe.My.God.

Victor Davis Hanson / American Greatness:

Crossing the Trump Rubicon — We are in a veritable war of competing visions. The strife inside the two parties is irrelevant—when compared to the larger existential war for the soul of America. — Like it or not, Donald Trump in fits and starts has chosen not to accommodate the progressive vision.

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

Anniversary of the Apocalypse — In the terror-struck and vertiginous days after Donald Trump's election a year ago, as I tried to make sense of America's new reality, I called people who lived, or had lived, under authoritarianism to ask what to expect. I wasn't looking for concrete predictions …

Discussion: Esquire

Mará Rose Williams / Kansas City Star:

Racist graffiti painted on car near K-State was a fraud — An incident in which racist slurs were painted on a car near the Kansas State University campus last week was a hoax, and the man who painted the slurs has apologized. — Riley County Police reported Monday afternoon that the owner of the car …

Discussion: bizpacreview.com and The College Fix

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:

ObamaCare signups surge in early days to set new record — A record number of people signed up for ObamaCare in the first few days of open enrollment this year compared to the same period in previous years, several sources close to the process told The Hill.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Politicus USA, Shareblue Media and ACA Signups